The Stories We Tell: Our Blog

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From 2008 to 2010, Victor Cuevas served in the Peace Corps in Lesotho. While he was there, he set his hut up with several dozen books. He invited children to come to the hut and told them, “This is a book.” Then he taught them about borrowing. Some stayed to read. The joy in their faces fueled his fire to start a bigger library.

Aware of the need for books and libraries, he worked with ALP to create a library in Lesotho while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer. When the first shipment of books was delivered for a library, he could see how excited the children were as they clutched the books.

Vikram Ruppa-Kasani says that he has always liked books. As he got older and he learned about people in the rest of the world, he wanted to give kids the same experience that he had had. So, at age 16, he led his Eagle Scout troop in Alpharetta, GA to do a book drive.

“I live in a helping community, and we want to promote literacy,” he explained

As a lawyer and library technical aide at Dublin Coffman High School in Dublin, Ohio, I have a special place in my heart for books and libraries. I often read six books at a time. I know that a love of books--of holding a book, turning its pages, looking at its pictures, experiencing new ideas and losing oneself in its wonderful stories--goes hand in hand with a love of learning.

At the same time, libraries provide a place for gathering and building a sense of community. A library provides information and educational opportunities for all people regardless of their economic status. Students and teachers can find each other there, make friends, and discuss ideas.

In May, a team from the US and Kenya celebrated a landmark event in ALP history—the distribution of ALP's first container of books for 32 libraries.

It was an important milestone for ALP, but our work in Kenya is not done. We are planning to send a second shipment to Kenya in early 2018 and are currently recruiting book drive organizers who can complete a book drive by December 5.

We recently received a report from Project Humanity, our partner that had distributed books for 15 of the libraries located on Rusinga Island. Through visits and conversations with the teacher librarians, they learned how the libraries are being used. One common theme—children love reading the books, and they are requesting MORE BOOKS!